Energy-linked reactions catalyzed by the purified ATPase complex (F0F1) from Rhodospirillum rubrum chromatophores

1. The isolation of F0F1-ATPase complex from Rhodospirillum rubrum chromatophores by the use of taurodeoxycholate is described. 2. The enzyme preparation contains about 12 polypeptides; five are subunits of the F1 moiety. 3. The ATPase activity of the purified enzyme is dependent on the addition of phospholipids. 4. Km-vales for Mg2+-ATP and Ca2+-ATP are similar to the values obtained for the membrane-bound enzyme. 5. The F0F1-ATPase complex is more than 70% inhibited by oligomycin and N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide. 6. The F0F1-ATPase complex was integrated into liposomes. The reconstituted proteoliposomes catalyzed energy transduction as shown by ATP-dependent quenching of acridine dye fluorescence and ATP-32Pi exchange.     

Assembled F1-(alpha beta ) and Hybrid F1-alpha 3beta 3gamma -ATPases from Rhodospirillum rubrum alpha, wild type or mutant beta, and chloroplast gamma subunits. Demonstration of Mg2+versus Ca2+-induced differences in catalytic site structure and function

Refolding together the expressed alpha and beta subunits of the Rhodospirillum rubrum F(1)(RF(1))-ATPase led to assembly of only alpha(1)beta(1) dimers, showing a stable low MgATPase activity. When incubated in the presence of AlCl(3), NaF and either MgAD(T)P or CaAD(T)P, all dimers associated into closed alpha(3)beta(3) hexamers, which also gained a low CaATPase activity. Both hexamer ATPase activities exhibited identical rates and properties to the open dimer MgATPase. These results indicate that: a) the hexamer, as the dimer, has no catalytic cooperativity; b) aluminium fluoride does not inhibit their MgATPase activity; and c) it does enable the assembly of RrF(1)-alpha(3)beta(3) hexamers by stabilizing their noncatalytic alpha/beta interfaces. Refolding of the RrF(1)-alpha and beta subunits together with the spinach chloroplast F(1) (CF(1))-gamma enabled a simple one-step assembly of two different hybrid RrF(1)-alpha(3)beta(3)/CF(1)gamma complexes, containing either wild type RrF(1)-beta or the catalytic site mutant RrF(1)beta-T159S. They exhibited over 100-fold higher CaATPase and MgATPase activities than the stabilized hexamers and showed very different catalytic properties. The hybrid wild type MgATPase activity was, as that of RrF(1) and CF(1) and unlike its higher CaATPase activity, regulated by excess free Mg(2+) ions, stimulated by sulfite, and inhibited by azide. The hybrid mutant had on the other hand a low CaATPase but an exceptionally high MgATPase activity, which was much less sensitive to the specific MgATPase effectors. All these very different ATPase activities were regulated by thiol modulation of the hybrid unique CF(1)-gamma disulfide bond. These hybrid complexes can provide information on the as yet unknown factors that couple ATP binding and hydrolysis to both thiol modulation and rotational motion of their CF(1)-gamma subunit.     

Activation of Mg-ATP hydrolysis in isolated Rhodospirillum rubrum H+-ATPase

The effects of lauryl dimethylamine oxide on the Rhodospirillum rubrum H+-ATPase have been studied. This detergent activates Mg2+-dependent ATP hydrolysis in the isolated R. rubrum F0-F1 34-fold, whereas the Ca2+-ATPase activity is only slightly modified. ATPase activation by lauryl dimethylamine oxide enhances the effect on ATP hydrolysis exerted by free Mg2+ ions. Concentrations of free Mg2+ in the range of 0.025 mM favor activation while higher concentrations inhibit ATPase activity by approximately 70%. Steady-state kinetic analysis shows that lauryl dimethylamine oxide induces a complex kinetic behavior for Mg-ATP in the chromatophores, similar to the untreated F0-F1 complex. The initial rate value for Mg-ATP unisite catalysis was found to be 6.3 times higher (3.5 X 10(-3) mol Pi per mol R. rubrum F0-F1 per second) in the presence than in the absence of detergent, where the initial rate was 5.5 X 10(-4) mol Pi per mol R. rubrum F0-F1 per second. These experiments show that lauryl dimethylamine oxide shifts the cation requirement for ATP-hydrolysis of the isolated R. rubrum H+-ATPase from Ca2+ to Mg2+ and that it activates both multisite and unisite catalysis. Results are discussed in relation to the possibility of a regulatory role by Mg2+ ions on ATP hydrolysis expressed through subunit interactions.     

ATP synthesis and hydrolysis by a hybrid system reconstituted from the beta-subunit of Escherichia coli F1-ATPase and beta-less chromatophores of Rhodospirillum rubrum

Photophosphorylation and ATPase activities were restored to beta-less Rhodospirillum rubrum chromatophores by their reconstitution with purified beta-subunits of either R. rubrum F1-ATPase (Rr beta) or Escherichia coli F1-ATPase (Ec beta). In the homologous reconstituted system both activities were restored to the same extent, whereas in the hybrid system ATP synthesis was restored to about 10% when the hydrolysis was restored to 200%. This difference in rates of synthesis and hydrolysis was not due to any general uncoupling effect of Ec beta leading to an increased membrane permeability to protons, because with both hybrid and homologous systems an identical light-induced quenching of quinacrine fluorescence was observed. They differed, however, in ATP-driven quenching of quinacrine fluorescence, which was much lower in the hybrid system. These results suggest that the hybrid has a decreased capacity for proton-translocation through the membrane-bound Fo channel during ATP hydrolysis, and probably also during ATP synthesis. The very high ATPase activity of the hybrid system indicates that it might enable the released protons to leak to the outside medium rather than to move inside through the Fo channel. The activities restored by Rr beta and Ec beta exhibit a similar sensitivity to dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, but different sensitivities to oligomycin and to an anti-E. coli F1 (EcF1) antibody. Oligomycin inhibited only the homologous R. rubrum system whereas anti-EcF1 was a much more effective inhibitor of the hybrid system. It is therefore concluded that Rr beta plays a role, that the Ec beta cannot fulfill, in conferring oligomycin sensitivity to the RrFo X F1-ATP synthase-ATPase complex.     

Tentoxin-induced energy-independent adenine nucleotide exchange and ATPase activity with chloroplast coupling factor 1.

1. The effect of energy transfer inhibitors on energy-dependent exchange of tightly bound adenine nucleotides with washed, broken spinach thylakoids has been studied. Energy transfer inhibitors that inhibit the ATPase activity of soluble chloroplast coupling factor 1 (CF1) (e.g. phloridzin and tentoxin) do not inhibit energy-dependent adenine nucleotide exchange. Energy transfer inhibitors that block proton flux through the hydrophobic protein proton channel (CF0) (e.g. dicyclohexylcarbodiimide and triphenyltin chloride) also block light-dependent adenine nucleotide exchange. 2. Tentoxin, at relatively high concentrations, stimulates an energy-independent exchange of adenosine diphosphate. 3. High concentrations of tentoxin elicit a Ca2+-dependent ATPase activity with soluble CF1, but has no effect on the Ca2+-dependent ATPase activity of membrane-bound CF1. 4. The trypsin-activated, Ca2+-dependent, membrane-bound ATPase is not affected by high concentrations of tentoxin, whereas the dithiothreitol-activated, Mg2+-dependent ATPase is markedly inhibited. 5. The reconstitution of chloroplasts, partially depleted in CF1, with soluble CF1 is correlated with the loss of tentoxin-induced, Ca2+-dependent ATPase activity associated with soluble CF1.     

Resolution and reconstitution of H+ -ATPase complex from beef heart mitochondria

Mitochondrial H+ -ATPase complex, purified by the lysolecithin extraction procedure, has been resolved into a "membrane" (NaBr-F0) and a "soluble" fraction by treatment with 3.5 M sodium bromide. The NaBr-F0 fraction is completely devoid of beta, delta, and epsilon subunits of the F, ATPase and largely devoid of alpha and gamma subunits of F1, where F0 is used to denote the membrane fraction and F1, coupling factor 1. This is confirmed by complete loss of ATPase and Pi-ATP exchange activities. The addition of F1 (400 micrograms X mg-1 F0) results in complete restoration of oligomycin sensitivity without any reduction in the F1-ATPase activity. Presumably, this is due to release of ATPase inhibitor protein from the F1-F0 complex consequent to sodium bromide extraction. Restoration of Pi-ATP exchange and H+ -pumping activities require coupling factor B in addition to F1-ATPase. The oligomycin-sensitive ATPase and 32Pi-ATP exchange activities in reconstituted F1-F0 have the same sensitivity to uncouplers and energy transfer inhibitors as in starting submitochondrial particles from the heavy layer of mitochondria and F1-F0 complex. The data suggest that the altered properties of NaBr-F0 observed in other laboratories are probably inherent to their F1-F0 preparations rather than to sodium bromide treatment itself. The H+ -ATPase (F1-F0) complex of all known prokaryotic (3, 8, 9, 10, 21, 32, 34) and eukaryotic (11, 26, 30, 33, 35-37) phosphorylating membranes contain two functionally and structurally distinct entities. The hydrophilic component F1, composed of five unlike subunits, shows ATPase activity that is cold labile as well as uncoupler- and oligomycin-insensitive. The membrane-bound hydrophobic component F0, having no energy-linked catalytic activity of its own, is indirectly assayed by its ability to regain oligomycin sensitive ATPase and Pi-ATP exchange activities on binding to F1-ATPase (33). The purest preparations of bovine heart mitochondrial F0 show seven or eight major components in polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate or SDS-PAGE (1, 2, 12, 14), ranging from 6 to 54 ku in molecular weight (12). The precise structure and polypeptide composition of mitochondrial F0 is not known. The F0 preparations from bovine heart reported so far have been derived from H+ -ATPase preparations isolated in the presence of cholate and deoxycholate (11, 33, 36, 37).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

The K+-translocating Kdp-ATPase from Escherichia coli. Purification, enzymatic properties and production of complex- and subunit-specific antisera

The Kdp system from Escherichia coli is a derepressible high-affinity K+-uptake ATPase. Its membrane-bound ATPase activity was approximately 50 mumol g-1 min-1. The Kdp-ATPase complex was purified from everted vesicles by solubilization with the nonionic detergent Aminoxid WS 35 followed by DEAE-Sepharose CL-6B chromatography at pH 7.5 and pH 6.4 and gel filtration on Fractogel TSK HW-65. The overall yield of activity was 6.5% and the purity at least 90%. The isolated KdpABC complex had a high affinity for its substrates K+ (Km app. = 10 microM) and Mg2+-ATP (Km = 80 microM) and a narrow substrate specificity. The ATPase activity was inhibited by vanadate (Ki = 1.5 microM), fluorescein isothiocyanate (Ki = 3.5 microM), N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (Ki = 60 microM) and N-ethylmaleimide (Ki = 0.1 mM). The purification protocol was likewise applicable to the isolation of a KdpA mutant ATPase which in contrast to the wild-type enzyme exhibited an increased Km value for K+ of 6 mM and a 10-fold lowered sensitivity for vanadate. Starting from the purified Kdp complex the single subunits were obtained by gel filtration on Bio-Gel P-100 in the presence of SDS. Both the native Kdp-ATPase and the SDS-denatured polypeptides were used to raise polyclonal antibodies. The specificity of the antisera was established by immunoblot analysis. In functional inhibition studies the anti-KdpABC and anti-KdpB sera impaired ATPase activity in the membrane-bound as well as in the purified state of the enzyme. In contrast, the anti-KdpC serum did not inhibit enzyme activity.     

Isolation and characterization of an inhibitory subunit of the Mg2+--Ca2+-ATPase of Escherichia coli.

1. Stimulation of the Escherichia coli ATPase activity by urea and trypsin shows that the ATPase activity both in the membrane-bound and the solubilized form is partly masked. 2. A protein, inhibiting the ATPase activity of Escherichia coli, can be isolated by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of purified ATPase. The inhibitor was identified with the smallest of the subunits of E. coli ATPase. 3. The molecular weight of the ATPase inhibitor is about 10,000, as determined by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and deduced from the amino acid composition. 4. The inhibitory action is independent of pH, ionic strength or the presence of Mg2+ or ATP. 5. The ATPase inhibitor is heat-stable, insensitive to urea but very sensitive to trypsin degradation. 6. The Escherichia coli ATPase inhibitor does not inhibit the mitochondrial or the chloroplast ATPase.     

Conversion of coupling factor 1 of Rhodospirillum rubrum from a Ca2+-ATPase into a Mg2+-ATPase

Isolation of F1-ATPase from Rhodospirillum rubrum by chloroform extraction of chromatophores, followed by purification on a glycerol gradient, results in a very pure enzyme preparation containing five subunits with high Ca2+-ATPase activity (15 mumol per min per mg protein). Furthermore, conditions are reported under which the purified F1 exhibits Mg2+-dependent ATPase activity of about 35 mumol per min per mg protein. NaHCO3 stimulates the Mg2+-activity from 1.5 mumol per min per mg protein to 5 mumol per min per mg protein giving a maximal activity at a concentration of about 60 mM NaHCO3. Lauryl dimethylamine oxide (LDAO), octyl glucoside and nonanoyl N-methylglucamide enhance the Mg2+-ATPase activity from 1.5 to 14, 22 and 35 mumol per min per mg protein, respectively, in the absence of NaHCO3, and from 5 to 34, 30 and 37 mumol per min per mg protein, respectively, in the presence of 50 mM NaHCO3. The Vmax is increased, but the Km for ATP remains the same, about 0.22 mM, both in the absence of activators and in the presence of NaHCO3, LDAO or NaHCO3 plus LDAO. Ca2+-dependent ATPase activity is slightly stimulated by NaHCO3 but strongly inhibited by octyl glucoside.     

Properties of the partially purified tonoplast H+-pumping ATPase from oat roots

Higher plant cells have one or more vacuoles important for maintaining cell turgor and for the transport and storage of ions and metabolites. One driving force for solute transport across the vacuolar membrane (tonoplast) is provided by an ATP-dependent electrogenic H+ pump. The tonoplast H+-pumping ATPase from oat roots has been solubilized with Triton X-100 and purified 16-fold by Sepharose 4B chromatography. The partially purified enzyme was sensitive to the same inhibitors (N-ethylmaleimide, N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCCD), 7-chloro-4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole, 4,4'-diisothiocyano-2,2'-stilbene disulfonic acid, and NO-3) as the native membrane-bound enzyme. The partially purified enzyme was stimulated by Cl- (Km(app) = 1.0 mM) and hydrolyzed ATP with a Km(app) of 0.25 mM. Thus, the partially purified tonoplast ATPase has retained the properties of the native membrane-bound enzyme. [14C]DCCD labeled a single polypeptide (14-18 kDa) in the purified tonoplast ATPase preparation. Two major polypeptides, 72 and 60 kDa, that copurified with the ATPase activity and the 14-18-kDa DCCD-binding peptide are postulated to be subunits of a holoenzyme of 300-600 kDa (estimated by gel filtration). Despite several catalytic similarities with the mitochondrial H+-ATPase, the major polypeptides of the tonoplast ATPase differed in mass from the alpha and beta subunits (58 and 55 kDa) and the [14C] DCCD-binding proteolipid (8 kDa) of the oat F1F0-ATPase.     

Purification and characterization of the F1 ATPase from Bacillus subtilis and its uncoupler-resistant mutant derivatives.

The F1 ATPase of Bacillus subtilis BD99 was extracted from everted membrane vesicles by low-ionic-strength treatment and purified by DEAE-cellulose chromatography, hydrophobic interaction chromatography, and anion-exchange high-performance liquid chromatography. The subunit structure of the enzyme was examined by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the absence and presence of urea. In the absence of urea, the alpha and beta subunits comigrated and the ATPase was resolved into four bands. The mobility of the beta subunit, identified by immunoblotting with anti-beta from Escherichia coli F1, was altered dramatically by the presence of urea, causing it to migrate more slowly than the alpha subunit. The catalytic activity of the ATPase was strongly metal dependent; in the absence of effectors, the Ca2+-ATPase activity was 15- to 20-fold higher than the Mg2+ -ATPase activity. On the other hand, sulfite anion, methanol, and optimally, octylglucoside stimulated the Mg2+ -ATPase activity up to twice the level of Ca2+ -ATPase activity (specific activity, about 80 mumol of Pi per min per mg of protein). The F1 ATPase was also isolated from mutants of B. subtilis that had been isolated and characterized in this laboratory by their ability to grow in the presence of protonophores. The specific activities of the ATPase preparations from the mutant and the wild type were very similar for both Mg2+- and Ca2+ -dependent activities. Kinetic parameters (Vmax and Km for Mg-ATP) for octylglucoside-stimulated Mg2+ -ATPase activity were similar in both preparations. Structural analysis by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and isoelectric focusing indicated that the five F1 subunits from ATPase preparations from the mutant and wild-type strains had identical apparent molecular weights and that no charge differences were detectable in the alpha and beta subunits in the two preparations. Thus, the increased ATPase activity that had been observed in the uncoupler-resistant mutants is probably not due to a mutation in the F1 moiety of the ATPase complex.     

Immunological and reconstitution studies on the adenosine triphosphatase complex from Rhodospirillum rubrum.

Studies on restoration of membrane-bound adenosinetriphosphatase (ATP phosphohydrolase, EC 3.6.1.3) from Rhodospirillum rubrum show that the delta-subunit is capable of binding to the F1 factor or to the F0 moiety of the F0-F1 ATPase complex. This subunit is thus likely involved in linking the F0 and F1 factor. During solubilization of the oligomycin-sensitive F0-F1 ATPase complex with Triton X-100 the detergent becomes specifically associated with the lipophilic F0 part of the enzyme complex. Crossed immunoelectrophoresis, agglutination tests, and kinetic studies with anti-F1 ATPase antibodies reveal a reaction of immunological identity of membrane-bound ATPase, F0-F1 ATPase, and F1 ATPase.     

Purification and characterization of the F1-ATPase from Clostridium thermoaceticum.

The F1 portion of the H+-ATPase from Clostridium thermoaceticum was purified to homogeneity by solubilization at low ionic strength, ion-exchange chromatography, and gel filtration. The last indicated the Mr to be 370,000. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the pure enzyme revealed four bands with Mr corresponding to 60,000, 55,000, 37,000, and 17,000 in an apparent molar ratio of 3:3:1:1. The purified enzyme would bind to stripped membranes to reconstitute dicyclohexylcarbodiimide-sensitive ATPase activity. Phosphohydrolase activity, measured at 58 degrees C, was optimal at pH 8.5. In the presence of a 1 mM excess of Mg2+ over the concentration of ATP, the Km for ATP was 0.4 mM, and the Vmax was 6.7 mumol min-1 mg-1. Unlike the membrane-bound F1F0 complex, the F1-ATPase was relatively insensitive to the inhibitors dicyclohexylcarbodiimide and tributyltin chloride. Both the complex and the F1-ATPase were inhibited by quercetin, azide, 7-chloro-4-nitro-benz-2-oxa-1,3-diazole, and free magnesium, and both were stimulated by primary alcohols and sulfite. In whole cells, the F1F0-ATPase catalyzed the synthesis of ATP in response to a pH gradient.     

The interaction of 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazan with Rhodospirillum rubrum chromatophores, their soluble F1-ATPase, and the isolated purified beta-subunit

ATP synthesis and hydrolysis by Rhodospirillum rubrum chromatophores as well as the soluble RrF1-ATPase activity are inhibited by 4-chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazan (NBD-C1) in a dithiothreitol-reversible manner. Using the method earlier developed in these chromatophores to remove specifically the beta-subunit from their membrane-bound RrF1 leaving all other subunits attached to the resulting inactive beta-less chromatophores (Philosoph, S., Binder, A., and Gromet-Elhanan, Z. (1977) J. Biol. Chem. 252, 8747-8752), we have tested the effect of NBD-Cl also on the isolated beta-subunit and on the beta-less chromatophores before and after their reconstitution with the missing beta-subunit. The isolated purified beta-subunit as well as the RrF1-ATPase bind covalently [14C]NBD-Cl with an accompanying increase in absorbance at 385 nm, indicative of a tyrosyl-O-NBD bond. But, unlike the inactive RrF1-NBD complex, the beta-NBD adduct is as capable as the native beta-subunit to reconstitute beta-less chromatophores and restore their ATP synthesis and hydrolysis activities. On the other hand, incubation of beta-less chromatophores with NBD-Cl before or after their reconstitution with either native beta or the NBD-saturated beta adduct results in complete inhibition of their restored activities. It is, therefore, concluded that there are different binding sites for NBD-Cl on the isolated beta-subunit and on the beta-less chromatophores or on chromatophores reconstituted with the beta-NBD adduct, where the beta-site is already occupied. Furthermore, the site responsible for inactivation by NBD-Cl of the coupled and reconstituted chromatophores and of the soluble RrF1 is different from the site modified by NBD-Cl on the isolated beta-subunit. Its subunit location is as yet unknown.     

ATP synthase complex from bovine heart mitochondria. Passive H+ conduction through F0 does not require oligomycin sensitivity-conferring protein

Oligomycin sensitivity-conferring protein (OSCP) is a water-soluble subunit of bovine heart mitochondrial H(+)-ATPase (F1-F0). In order to investigate the requirement of OSCP for passive proton conductance through mitochondrial F0, OSCP-depleted membrane preparations were obtained by extracting purified F1-F0 complexes with 4.0 M urea. The residual complexes, referred to as UF0, were found to be deficient with respect to OSCP, as well as alpha, beta, and gamma subunits of F1-ATPase, but had a full complement of coupling factor 6 as judged by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blotting techniques. These UF0 complexes had no intrinsic ATPase activity and were able to bind nearly the same amount of F1-ATPase in the presence of either OSCP or NH4+ ions alone, or a combination of the two. However, the preparations exhibited an absolute dependency on OSCP for conferral of oligomycin sensitivity to membrane-bound ATPase. The passive proton conductance in UF0 proteoliposomes was measured by time-resolved quenching of 9-amino-6-chloro-2-methoxyacridine or 9-aminoacridine fluorescence following a valinomycin-induced K(+)-diffusion potential. The data clearly establish that OSCP is not a necessary component of the F0 proton channel nor is its presence required for conductance blockage by the inhibitors oligomycin or dicyclohexylcarbodiimide. Furthermore, OSCP does not prevent or block passive H+ leakage. Comparisons of OSCP with the F1-F0 subunits from Escherichia coli and chloroplast lead us to suggest that mitochondrial OSCP is, both structurally and functionally, a hybrid between the beta and delta subunits of the prokaryotic systems.     

Characterization of the Na+-stimulated ATPase of Propionigenium modestum as an enzyme of the F1F0 type

The ATP-hydrolyzing activity of Propionigenium modestum was extracted from the membranes with Triton X-100 or by incubation with EDTA at low ionic strength. The ATPase in the Triton extract was highly sensitive to dicyclohexylcarbodiimide but not to vanadate. These properties are characteristic for enzymes of the F1 F0 type. The ATPase was specifically activated by Na+ ions yielding a 15-fold increase in catalytic activity at 5 mM Na+ concentration. The additional presence of 1% Triton X-100 caused a further 1.5-fold activation. In the absence of Na+ Triton stimulated the ATPase about 13-fold. The Triton-stimulated ATPase was further activated about 1.5-2-fold by Na+ addition. The ATPase extracted by the low-ionic-strength treatment was purified to homogeneity by fractionation with poly(ethylene glycol) and gel chromatography. The enzyme had the characteristic F1-ATPase subunit structure with Mr values of 58,000 (alpha), 56,000 (beta), 37,600 (gamma), 22,700 (delta), and 14,000 (epsilon). The F1-ATPase was not stimulated by Na+ ions. The membrane-bound ATPase was reconstituted from the purified F1 part and F1-depleted membranes, thus further indicating an F1 F0 structure for the ATPase of P. modestum. Upon reconstitution the ATPase recovered its stimulation by Na+ ions, suggesting that the binding site for Na+ is localized on the membrane-bound F0 part of the enzyme complex.     

Reconstitution of the H+-ATPase complex of Rhodospirillum rubrum by the beta subunit of the chloroplast coupling factor 1

A method is described for isolating the beta subunit from spinach chloroplast F1 (CF1). The isolated beta subunit reconstituted an active F1 hybrid with the F1 of Rhodospirillum rubrum chromatophores from which the beta subunit had been removed. The CF1 beta subunit was similar to the isolated beta subunit of Escherichia coli F1 (Gromet-Elhanan, Z., Khananshivili, D., Weiss, S., Kanazawa, H., and Futai, M. (1985) J. Biol. Chem. 260, 12635-12640) in that it restored a substantial rate of ATP hydrolysis and low, but significant light-dependent ATP synthesis to the beta-less chromatophores. The low rate of photophosphorylation observed with the hybrid enzyme probably resulted from a looser coupling of the CF1 beta subunit to proton translocation in the R. rubrum Fo-F1 complex. The hybrid enzyme exhibited a high specificity for Mg2+-ATP as substrate for ATP hydrolysis and both ATP synthesis and hydrolysis were strongly inhibited by the antibiotic tentoxin. In contrast, chromatophores reconstituted with the native R. rubrum beta subunit actively hydrolyzed both Mg2+-ATP and Ca2+-ATP and were insensitive to tentoxin. These results indicate a close functional homology between the beta subunits of the prokaryotic and eukaryotic H+-ATPases and suggest a role for the beta subunit in conferring the different metal ion specificities and inhibitor sensitivities upon the enzymes. They also demonstrate the feasibility of isolating the beta subunit from CF1 in a reconstitutively active form.     

Membrane ATPase from the aceticlastic methanogen Methanothrix thermophila.

A new isolate of the aceticlastic methanogen Methanothrix thermophila utilizes only acetate as the sole carbon and energy source for methanogenesis (Y. Kamagata and E. Mikami, Int. J. Syst. Bacteriol. 41:191-196, 1991). ATPase activity in its membrane was found, and ATP hydrolysis activity in the pH range of 5.5 to 8.0 in the presence of Mg2+ was observed. It had maximum activity at around 70 degrees C and was specifically stimulated up to sixfold by 50 mM NaHSO3. The proton ATPase inhibitor N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide inhibited the membrane ATPase activity, but azide, a potent inhibitor of F0F1 ATPase (H(+)-translocating ATPase of oxidative phosphorylation), did not. Since the enzyme was tightly bound to the membranes and could not be solubilized with dilute buffer containing EDTA, the nonionic detergent nonanoyl-N-methylglucamide (0.5%) was used to solubilize it from the membranes. The purified ATPase complex in the presence of the detergent was also sensitive to N,N'-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide, and other properties were almost the same as those in the membrane-associated form. The purified enzyme revealed at least five kinds of subunits on a sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel, and their molecular masses were estimated to be 67, 52, 37, 28, and 22 kDa, respectively. The N-terminal amino acid sequences of the 67- and 52-kDa subunits had much higher similarity with those of the 64 (alpha)- and 50 (beta)-kDa subunits of the Methanosarcina barkeri ATPase and were also similar to those of the corresponding subunits of other archaeal ATPases. The alpha beta complex of the M. barkeri ATPase has ATP-hydrolyzing activity, suggesting that a catalytic part of the Methanothrix ATPase contains at least the 67- and 52-kDa subunits.     

Rat liver plasma membrane Ca2+- or Mg2+-activated ATPase. Evidence for proton movement in reconstituted vesicles

The Ca2+- or Mg2+-activated ATPase from rat liver plasma membrane was partly purified by treatments with sodium cholate and lysophosphatidylcholine, and by isopycnic centrifugation on sucrose gradients. The ATPase activity had high sensitivity to detergents, poor nucleotide specificity and broad tolerance for divalent cations. It was insensitive to mitochondrial ATPase inhibitors such as oligomycin and to transport ATPase inhibitors such as vanadate and ouabain. Using the cholate dialysis procedure, the partly purified enzyme was incorporated into asolectin vesicles. Upon addition of Mg2+-ATP, fluorescence quenching of 9-amino-6-chloro-2-methoxyacridine (ACMA) was observed. The quenching was abolished by a protonophore, carbonyl cyanide p-trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone (FCCP). Asolectin vesicles or purified ATPase alone failed to promote quenching. These data suggest that the Ca2+- or Mg2+-activated ATPase from rat liver plasma membrane is able of H+-translocation coupled to ATP hydrolysis.     

Isolation and purification of an active gamma-subunit of the F0.F1-ATP synthase from chromatophore membranes of Rhodospirillum rubrum. The role of gamma in ATP synthesis and hydrolysis as compared to proton translocation

We have earlier shown that extraction of Rhodospirillum rubrum chromatophores with LiCl removed completely the beta-subunit of their coupling factor ATPase complex leaving the other four subunits attached to the membrane (Philosoph, S., Binder, A., and Gromet-Elhanan, Z. (1977) J. Biol. Chem. 252, 8747-8752). Further treatment of these beta-less chromatophores with LiBr, under the described optimal conditions, resulted in specific removal of one additional subunit, the gamma-subunit, and both subunits were purified to homogeneity. The beta, gamma-less chromatophores as well as the beta-less ones lost their ATP-linked activities, but retained their light-induced proton uptake, resulting in the formation of an electrochemical gradient of protons composed of both a pH gradient and a membrane potential. These results indicate that the removed beta and gamma subunits cannot be an integral part of an H+ gate in the R. rubrum chromatophore membrane. Each of the removed subunits could bind to the beta, gamma-less chromatophores, but such separate reconstitution of either beta or gamma alone did not lead to restoration of any ATP-linked activity. ATP synthesis and hydrolysis could be restored to the same extent to these chromatophores by their reconstitution with both beta and gamma. It is thus concluded that the presence of both subunits is required for ATP synthesis as well as hydrolysis by the R. rubrum F0.F1 complex. The identical degree of elimination and restoration of ATP synthesis and hydrolysis upon removal and reconstitution of beta and gamma indicates that in R. rubrum at least, there seems to be no reason for suggesting the operation of different catalytic sites for the two activities.